As much as Rs 26,697 crore was lying in dormant accounts of banks, including cooperative banks, as on December 31, 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. This money is lying in nearly 9 crore accounts which have not been operated for 10 years. As per information received from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as on December 31, 2020, the total number of such accounts in Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) was 8,13,34,849 and the amount of deposits in such accounts was Rs 24,356 crore, Sitharaman said in a reply.
All eyes will be on whether Sitharaman will deliver a populist budget leaving more money in hands of the common man or push the reform agenda by staying on the fiscal glide path to lower the fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26.
Among other proposals, she said NRI portfolio route would be merged with the FPI route for seamless investment in stock markets.
Highlights of the announcements made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the reduction in corporate tax and other fiscal relief measures for the economy to promote growth and investment.
A total of Rs 52,759 crore has been raised by 61 companies through initial public offers till October this fiscal, higher than the funds mopped up through this route in the last financial year, the government told the Lok Sabha on Monday. Out of the 61 companies that hit the markets till October of the current fiscal, 34 entities were Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that a large number of manufacturing and service sector companies are coming up for listing.
The defence minister has 20 months to learn the military's ethos, culture and to publicly bat for an organisation that feels increasingly marginalised and underappreciated.
It is a tribute to India's democracy, however flawed, that the very same MPs who had harangued her intermittently from Opposition benches now surged towards her, anxiety writ large on their faces. One offered her some homoeopathic tablets, another advised her to stay seated, another grasped her hand wishing her good health... the crowd parted as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strode up to congratulate her. But it was mostly well-wishers from the Opposition and the NDA that kept the finance minister cocooned with good wishes until it was time to leave, reports Aditi Phadnis.
PSB chiefs tried to argue that liquidity is in surplus in the system and the problem was related to lack of demand in the economy, instead of banks' reluctance to lend, but 'the FM said it is a perception issue that loan is not available, which we need to dispel,', reports Somesh Jha.
The Bharatiya Janata Party vs ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam battle over live telecast of the Ayodhya Ram temple consecration in Tamil Nadu shrines reached the Supreme Court on Monday, with the apex court asking the authorities to act in accordance with the law and not based on any oral instructions.
While speaking of taxation, Sitharaman also quoted Sangam era Tamil classic's Yaanai Pugundha Nilam written by Pisirandhayar in Purananooru.
The exchange came at a time when the finance minister was listing out the various measures adopted by the central government to stem rising onion prices in the country.
RM took stock of progress in production of the fighter jets whose delivery to India will begin in September next year.
The supplementary demands for grants include a gross additional spending of over Rs 2 lakh crore, which would be matched by savings of over Rs 1.21 lakh crore.
Hitting back at former prime minister Manmohan Singh for his criticism of the Modi government's handling of the economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said he is more remembered for having brought India to "fragile five" and rampant inflation during his term.
"They are calling us dramabaaz. What happened yesterday by stopping migrants and interacting with them on the road and wasting their time? Aren't they dramabaaz?," she quipped.
A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com attends Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's presser in Chennai to tom-tom the government's achievements in its first 100 days in office.
'When it is unpaid, sometimes, they don't take you seriously.' 'Work is not reviewed, and there is no effort in making interns learn.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday proposed to borrow Rs 14.13 lakh crore by issuing dated securities to meet revenue shortfall in the next financial year starting on April 1.
The government's move to tweak the long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax regime proposed in the Finance Bill 2024 and re-introduce the indexation benefit is likely to boost the investments and spur housing sales in the country, industry executives believe. "By enabling taxpayers to choose the lower tax burden between the new and old schemes, the amendment is poised to drive investment and enhance sales across housing segments," said Niranjan Hiranandani, chairman of the Hiranandani Group. In Budget 2024, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed an overhaul in the capital gains tax regime, including lowering the LTCG tax to 12.5 per cent from 20 per cent.
The minister was responding to questions on the firing along the Indo-Pak border despite the two sides agreeing for a truce.
PSBs have been requested to reach out to MSMEs to provide bill discounting to them against their dues since they suffer the most from shortage of cash.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday presented the Economic Survey that details the state of the economy ahead of the government's Budget for fiscal year beginning April 1, 2021. The Economic Survey 2020-21, authored by a team led by Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Venkata Subramanian, details the state of different sectors of the economy as well as reforms that should be undertaken to accelerate growth.
Earlier, the defence minister, accompanied by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, visited a forward post in north Kashmir on Sunday morning, the officials said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that writing off does not mean "completely waiving the amount" and banks follow up on loans to recover the outstanding dues. "Writing off is not completely waiving the amount. As a part of the accounting process, banks make a provision for the amount, which is due from the NPA account and in that process, we call it as writing off, but the provisioning is made and the pursuing of that particular defaulter or the NPA, which owes money to the bank, is followed up," the minister said answering a query in Lok Sabha.
The government will formulate a strategy to make India self-reliant in edible oils by boosting domestic output of oilseeds and launch a comprehensive programme to support dairy farmers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Thursday. India imports a large quantity of edible oils to meet the domestic demand. During the 2022-23 marketing year (November-October), the country imported nearly 165 lakh tonnes of cooking oils, valuing a whopping Rs 1.38 lakh crore.
President Droupadi Murmu hosted a dinner for the outgoing Union council of ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Banerjee said her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations.
The expansion of existing airports and development of new airports will continue expeditiously, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday and emphasised that the country's aviation sector has been galvanised in the past 10 years.
Ahead of the Union Budget, the banking sector, through the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), has made recommendations to the Union finance ministry on direct tax, including removing Section 194N of the Income Tax Act. According to Section 194N, tax deduction at source (TDS) has to be done if a sum or sums withdrawn in cash by a person in a fiscal year exceed Rs 20 lakh if no income-tax return (ITR) has been filed for the three previous assessment years, and Rs 1 crore if ITRs have been filed in all the three previous assessment years.
In 2019-20 Budget, the government had increased surcharge from 15 per cent to 25 per cent on those with taxable income between Rs 2-5 crore and from 15 per cent to 37 per cent for income above Rs 5 crore. Following the increase, the effective income tax rate for individuals with a taxable income of Rs 2-5 crore will go up from 35.88 per cent to 39 per cent and for those above Rs 5 crore it would go up to 42.7 per cent.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, ITC, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and JSW Steel were the major laggards. Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Maruti, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
Sitharaman and Karnataka Minister Sa Ra Mahesh were locked in an exchange of words over her itinerary during her visit to Kodagu district on Friday in full view of officials and the media at the district commissioner's office.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced plans to increase milk and dairy production in the country. India is the largest milk producer in the world but there is low productivity, the finance minister said.
'The move to remove indexation benefits on LTCGs presently available for property, gold, and other unlisted assets may have a negative impact as it directly impacts real estate investors.'
Startup and venture funds on Tuesday cheered the Budget decision on the abolition of angel tax for all investor classes, terming it a "game-changer" that would remove significant barriers in growth and foster a vibrant and dynamic ecosystem. Angel tax refers to the tax that the government imposes on funding raised by unlisted companies, or startups if their valuation exceeds the company's fair market value.
Thrust on infrastructure and capital expenditure is expected to continue in the Union Budget for FY25.
'Compare the new slabs with the previous years to understand if your tax liability will increase or decrease after the Budget.'
Average monthly GST collection rose from Rs 90,000 crore during the first year of its implementation -- 2017-2018 -- to Rs 1.68 trillion during 2023-2024, representing an 87 per cent rise.
If the Budget makes no big announcements on new schemes, projects, or tax giveaways, the government would face a major political dilemma as it may have to reluctantly consider shunning the practice of unveiling pre-election sops to woo voters, notes A K Bhattacharya.
The FM said, change in the mindset of the millennials not to commit any EMIs towards buying an automobile and instead taking Ola, Uber or the Metro (train) services also led to automobile sector slowdown.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances